GIG REVIEW: Dolly Parton
- Posted on July 10, 2008 4:13 PM
- 2 comments
Dolly Parton
02 Arena
Saturday 5th July
Review by Matt Killeen
Ben Smith was his name. He was my partner in crime in my teenage years, my guitarist and songwriting partner, the Lennon to my McCartney or vice versa. We experimented with drink and drugs together and we lost our virginity to the same girl, a week apart I hasten to add. We suffered loss of parents, fought like a married couple and the shared the pain of growing up. For all our love-hate unity there was a part of his personality that I could never understand. Country music.
We watched the Everley Brothers, listened to their ’69 drug fuelled live album, listened to Hank Williams, dreamt of his Cadillac death and admired Willie Nelson’s attitude. From Albert Lee’s ‘Country Boy’ to the rather less successful Garth Brooks and the ‘New Country’, we listened to it all.
Both kinds, Country and Western.
It sat uneasily with our hair, our make-up and our music was quixotically schizophrenic as a result. When people laugh about the possibility of ‘Goth Country Music’, I just nod with the understanding that comes with experience. However, I can never claim to have got it. It was too foreign, too distant and too right wing. Even back then when the States wasn’t the terrifying police state that it is today, Country music came from its dark heart, not long from lynchings and slavery.
So I respect it, but I’m not sure I like it. So why am I here?
Due to marital pressure of course, part of the wonderful tombola of marrying an American. However, I could have said no, so is there part of me that isn’t here to take the mickey? There is a hilarious cavalcade of overweight lesbians, groups of women in feather boas and gay men in pink cowboy hats so that part of the evening seems sorted. The question remains, however, what am I expecting from the music? What is a 62 year old singing going to be like?
When Dolly starts I remember what I know about her. She’s no mere singer, no producer’s moll. She’s a gifted musician and a songwriter, the composer of all her big hits. She plays at least seven different instruments tonight, with long nails and all.
The time Dolly takes to put each of her songs in context makes all the difference. Jolene was a real person. Who knew? The Coat of Many Colours really existed. It makes each of these songs instantly resonant and special. They are superbly crafted, a piece of tongue-in-cheek humour or a tale of crushing poverty and aspiration. We hear gospel, rock and roll, acapella, bluegrass and celtic folk as well the usual country nonsense. Most people at this kind of gig don’t want to hear new stuff but tonight Dolly’s ‘Backwoods Barbie’ material stands up pretty well, tapping into, as it does, some of her strongest themes. Even when she sings a song about celebrity and our fascination with scandal, it makes sense to those listening because it’s a song about the evil and guilt in all of us.
Futhermore, the second she starts to sing I remember how incredible her voice is. Possibly the oldest part of her since there isn’t a reliable medical procedure for the vocal chords, her powerful lilt is undamaged by the years. When she sings ‘Little Sparrow’ unaccompanied in the darkness, it sent literal chills down my spine. When she finished I was light headed because I discovered I had been holding my breath. I would challenge any vocalist in the world to create something that beautiful yet that frightening.
Big voice, big hair, big breasts – Dolly is a joke. However she knows she’s a joke and that makes all the difference. We hear the line about how much money it costs to look this cheap yet again but it works so why fix it? We hear about the town trollop back home that seemed so glamorous amongst the poverty of the mountain town. We hear about the young dolly making lipstick with berries and face powder with flour in an attempt to emulate her. This understanding makes sense of her appearance, her songs and her attraction to the people here today. She is the World’s town tramp, ‘nothing but trash’. You can mock her but she’s a shining light amongst all the dirt.
Related links:
Dolly Parton concert tickets.
Comments (2)
Inspired
What a beautiful review. I was there too and she was amazing. I thought I'd go for the laugh, but it was so much better then I could have imagined. She is truly gifted.
Posted on July 16, 2008 11:20 PM
Norma Lewis
Can you tell me when Dolly will tour the U.K next ?? Norma..I have an autistic son who adores her and would to see her on stage..
Posted on September 9, 2008 10:23 PM
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